Commentary on II Chanson (Un jour, Dieu sur
sa table)

by Geoffrey Barto ofgbarto.com

This amusing little poem doesn't come in for much commentary;
it's largely self-explanatory. Mastaï-Feretti, it should be
noted, was the given name of Pope Pious IX; said pope reinforced
some of the "moral" tenets of Napoleon III's regime,
among other things proscribing several of Hugo's books.

The poem's premise, that Napoleon III and Pious IX had been
won by the devil in a card game, is not the most sophisticated
taunt ever offered, but it underlines the intensity of Hugo's
rejection of both. Given that the title of the book in which this
poem appears is L'autorité est sacrée (Authority
is crowned/consecrated), it is worth noting who installed
the villains in power. This inversion of divine right lays bare
the sarcastic nature of the book's title. I have included this
poem for two reasons: first, because it is an amusing read, and
second, because it spells out in simple terms the underlying
assumptions of Puisque le juste...
and A quatre prisonniers.